Second Nature
by Silent Anime Angel
Summary: A GWMKR crossover. The guys discover their gundams have been switched with living god-gundams from another world. They must adapt to these new machienes, deal with Relena, and take on a mission. CHAPTER 2 IS UP!
1. Those are NOT gundam

It was close to midnight. It had to be. The sky was dark, cloudless, the stars shining brightly as a full moon hung in the sky. But the three who desired that sky most could not have it. The spirits, Rayearth, Windam, and Selece sat in their beast forms, watching each other in silence. Selece lifted his head to the blackness around them and hummed a tune the others didn't recognize. They assumed his knight had once sang it in his presence and it had stuck with him. Though it was true that Windam was the songbird of the three, Selece had a nice voice and his partners enjoyed listening to him.  
  
Rayearth was half the size of his two partners; it seemed to fit being as his knight was much smaller than the other two. It was strange how even before their knights arrived, the three spirits reflected them very well. Selece was very withdrawn and was only open with his knight as well as Windam and Rayearth. Much like Umi could be. Windam was very friendly unless he was threatened, and usually very polite and proper. Exactly like Fuu. Rayearth himself was friendly, he thought so anyway. He talked to Selece and Windam very openly, and had begun to do so with Hikaru and Mokona as well. Selece silenced and stood and Windam gave an aggressive beat of his four wings. Rayearth leapt to his feet and growled loudly. A female centaur, the horse half of her body a pure white, walked alongside a black hyena-type beast. The three looked slightly shocked then took up fighting positions.  
  
"Sora and Diablo." Selece hissed. The two were silent. Though the spirits technically had no gender, Sora was the only one of them who would have been considered female. Diablo glared at the three spirits, particularly at Rayearth, the one responsible for his initial death. Sora put a hand on Diablo's shoulder and the spirit calmed a bit, but never broke his gaze from the fire spirit.  
  
"We have returned under the grace of Cephiro's new pillar, who has used a great amount of will and strength to pull back those who's lives should not have been lost during her battles." Sora said. The three looked at each other. This meant that Emeraude and Zagato were alive as well.  
  
"Has peace been made between the knights and the princess and the sol?" Windam asked politely, hiding his aggravation at seeing the two. Sora nodded. Windam returned the nod.  
  
"Then peace will rest between us five as well. We must follow the decisions of those who have awakened us. That is our duty." Windam said, the last sentence to remind them that they were not beasts of free will, simply guards provided to aid those who had been born for them. Then there was the light. They were sure that their knights were summoning them, but sadly that was not the case.  
  
"THAT IS NOT DEATHSCYTHE!" Duo shouted for the tenth time at Wufei, who stared up at the mashin Diablo.  
  
"It's black. Deathscythe is black." Wufei reasoned.  
  
"THAT IS NOT DEATHSCYTHE!" Duo shouted again. Diablo looked at the five boys, then at Sora. Sora was staring at the boys as well. Windam though was the first to make a move. Sensing the heart of each boy, he moved to look at Quatre, seeing him as the most like Fuu, his own knight.  
  
"Do you know where we are?" Windam asked. The five boys froze in silence, and turned slowly to look at the mashin. Duo's jaw dropped.  
  
"HOLY CRAP IT TALKS!" Duo shouted, jumping behind Wufei. Wufei, who normally would have said something mean to Duo, just stood. Quatre, who knew he was the one being addressed, stepped forward, shaking.  
  
"Earth... In Ireland to be exact." Quatre said. The boys had gotten instructions to go there, but had not been told their mission. It supposedly was to have been told to them upon arrival, which it hadn't. Windam and Selece looked at Rayearth, knowing he had for a short time been to earth with his knight, Hikaru. Rayearth shook his head.  
  
"This does not look like the place we were in." Rayearth said. Selece looked at Wufei.  
  
"How do we get back to Cephiro?" Selece's voice was demanding.  
  
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. What did you do with Nataku?" Wufei's voice was just as demanding. Selece growled.  
  
"I do not know of the Nataku you speak of."  
  
"LIAR! INJUSTICE!" Wufei shouted, causing Duo to jump and scramble behind Heero, who rolled his eyes.  
  
"Where are our Gundam?" Heero asked in his cold voice.  
  
"We do not understand what you speak of." Diablo said, his voice low and angry, similar to Heero's own. Sora nodded as the five shifted back to their beast forms, causing Duo to scream again and scramble on behind Quatre, who had scrambled behind Trowa. Though Rayearth and Sora were smaller than the rest, who were still the same size as they had been a moment ago, they were still at least three times as high as the boys.  
  
"Our Gundam." Quatre said, looking up at the great emerald bird, "Sandrock, Heavyarms, Deathscythe, Wing, and Shenlong."  
  
"Nataku!" Wufei corrected angrily.  
  
"Right, Nataku. My mistake." Quatre said. Wufei scoffed.  
  
"We do not know anything of what happened before we arrived here. We do not know the whereabouts of your 'Gundam'." Windam said. If he'd had fingers, he would have made a gesture much like quotation marks when he'd said the word Gundam. Quatre nodded this enough to satisfy him. Trowa was silent, watching the five beats that had only moments ago been something like living Gundam. Wufei has resumed arguing with Selece and Quatre now discussed with Windam possible explanations for their problem. Heero and Diablo just glared at each other. Trowa could tell they'd make fast friends as soon as one of them decided to blink. Duo was now getting on famously with Rayearth, with whom he was discussing how amusing fire could be, if used for certain purposes. Sora watched Diablo and Heero. Trowa decided he would speak with her. She seemed sensible enough.  
  
"What are you five?" Trowa asked. Sora looked at him and took a step back.  
  
"Spirits." she answered. Trowa was unimpressed. This was not enough of an answer. Sora sensed this and tried to come up with a more thorough answer. "We are somewhat like living armor for our knights. We protect them and give them advice when they need it. We are suited to our knight and our knight alone." Trowa raised an eyebrow behind his unibang.  
  
"Sure as hell doesn't seem that way." Trowa looked around at the others. As he'd suspected, Heero and Diablo were talking calmly with each other now. He wondered who had blinked first. Quatre and Windam's discussion had evolved into a nice chat about unimportant things. Duo was riding Rayearth around, both laughing. Wufei and Selece were silent now, but seemed to finally be enjoying each other's company, and, to Trowa's surprise, Wufei began to stroke Selece's nose.  
  
Sora nodded again and glanced at Diablo. Trowa could tell that Sora and Diablo held some kind of bond and were separate from the other three. He could tell that the bird, the dragon, and the wolf held a bond, but it was nothing like the one that Sora shared with the hyena that was talking to Heero.  
  
"My name is Sora by the way." she said softly.  
  
"They call me Trowa Barton." Trowa responded, "That's Heero. And Wufei. And Quatre. And that idjit's Duo." Trowa pointed at them all in turn, and Sora's eyes followed his hand.  
  
"His name is Diablo. His knight and my knight were in love. It caused tragedy." Sora said, looking towards Diablo. That explained the bond Trowa had felt. "That is Selece, and he is Windam. And of course Rayearth." Trowa looked around, following Sora's gaze. The two talked for some time about the others, about what pasts of theirs they knew of, and of the tragedy they'd both seen.  
  
"Who is Nataku?" Selece finally asked. The question had been bothering him for some time now. Wufei looked up at Selece.  
  
"Nataku was the name my former wife gave herself, the name I gave to my Gundam in her memory, for had she not died it would have been hers to pilot." Wufei said softly. Selece knew this was a delicate subject and chose not to respond. Love was Windam's thing. He was the one who had seen Fuu fight for her life and the prince's. No, he did not know what to say here. "Have you ever been in love?" Selece blinked as Wufei posed this question. He shook his head.  
  
"I have never had anyone to be in love with. I have only been awake again for a short time now. All that time has been spent either fighting or waiting to fight. I have no other purpose." Selece said. Wufei nodded.  
  
"I see. Tell me about this knight of yours." Wufei said. Selece looked upward.  
  
"Her name is Ryuuzaki Umi. Her name means sea of dragon blossoms. Her powers are based on speed, her magic type being water. Her patience wears thin easily, unless it's her friends trying her patience. She's developed a tolerance for them. She's very close with Rayearth and Windam's knights. More than once she's abandon a battle to tend to her friends." Selece said, looking longingly at the sky, missing Umi greatly. If he'd ever felt anything like love, it would have been the emotion he held for her. Not true love, like the love Wufei had felt for Nataku, but the love an older brother feels for his sister. Like Kakeru, Masaru, and Satoru's love for Hikaru. Despite his initial dislike of the Chinese pilot, Wufei was starting to grow on Selece. And Selece had begun to grow on Wufei. A bond was forming where no one thought one would.  
  
"So you're from the desert? My knight fell in love in a desert. It was before she'd awakened me, but her soul and mine are linked, and it is a cherished memory." Windam said cheerfully. Quatre smiled. Windam was very pleasant company. He was apparently very fond of his knight and the prince of the place he called Cephiro. Quatre enjoyed the stories Windam told, and Windam greatly enjoyed telling them. Quatre looked at the other four spirits.  
  
"So which one of them has the prince as their knight?" Quatre asked.  
  
"The Prince does not have a spirit mashin. Only the ones summoned from this world and the two they were destined to kill have spirits. It is in the legend." Quatre blinked. Kill? Windam… killed? That didn't seem right.  
  
"Please, explain further." Quatre said. Windam preened his feathers on his front left wing and tried to think of an explanation that made it simple. Nope, none to be found. Windam sighed. It would be the long version then.  
  
"Cephiro is supported by its Pillar. She may pray for her country and nothing more. The Pillar cannot take her own life, and no one from Cephiro may harm the Pillar. The Pillar alone is given the power to summon knights from another world if she feels she can no longer support Cephiro. She alone is given the power to summon knights from another world to take her life." Quatre gasped, but Windam continued. "The three knights must overcome trials and revive three spirits, Selece, Rayearth, and myself, to become Magic Knights and destroy the Pillar and save Cephiro. Our pillar, Princess Emeraude, the one to whom Sora is the knight of, fell in love with her attendant Sol Zagato, the knight of Diablo. Zagato as well fell in love with Emeraude. But they could not be together because Emeraude was not allowed to love anything but Cephiro." Quatre frowned.  
  
"That's just wrong." Quatre said. Windam nodded.  
  
"Yes I know. She did not see the possible alternatives available to her. She loved Cephiro, but she loved Zagato more. So she summoned Hikaru, Rayearth's knight, Umi, Selece's knight, and Fuu, my knight, to kill her. Those they met along the way were all connected to Princess Emeraude, the prince being her younger brother. My knight felt a deep sadness when she learned this fact, that she had killed the only family of the one she loved." Quatre blinked. He felt a sudden great sympathy for Cephiro's former princess.  
  
"Only family? No mother or father?"  
  
"No one had ever known them to be around." Windam said. "But after Princess Emeraude died the leaders of several outside countries tried to take the post of the Pillar and our knights were summoned again. Hikaru became the Pillar and wished to eliminate the system after falling in love with Sol Zagato's younger brother, Lantis." Quatre nodded. He understood perfectly well why the system has been eliminated.  
  
Diablo had just told Heero the same story, though seeming to tell a bit more of Zagato's side. How Zagato had thought it was wrong of Emeraude to have to pray only for Cephiro, and how Clef had framed him, telling the Magic Knights that Zagato had kidnapped the princess when her knew perfectly well that she'd locked herself away. Heero nodded.  
  
"This Zagato was a loving man." Heero said in his cold voice. Diablo nodded. Heero thought for a long time about his own emotions. Would he fight like that for someone? He'd fought to protect the colonies, but did he have one person he could give his life for like that, risk it all just for the sake of one person's happiness? He didn't think he was that selfless. He looked up at the hyena. Heero sighed. Diablo looked at Sora.  
  
"She is Emeraude's spirit mashin." Diablo told Heero. Heero nodded.  
  
"I thought I could sense a bond between the two of you that you did not share with the others. You do not seem to have any bond with the others at all." Heero said.  
  
"Sora and I are different from them. They have been our enemies untill now. Zagato and Emeraude made their peace with the knights, and we have done the same. As Windam said, it is our duty to follow on their decisions." Diablo said. Heero raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I though you said that Zagato and Emeraude were dead." Heero said, now unsure that he had the story right. Diablo nodded.  
  
"They were for quite a while, but the current pillar, Rayearth's knight, Hikaru, used a great deal of her soul's energy to restore them to the living, bringing us back as well." Diablo said. Heero nodded, he never misheard things.  
  
Rayearth leapt into the air and Duo laughed, "This is so cool!" Rayearth landed and nodded.  
  
"It has been many, many ages since I've been able to run free like this." Rayearth said, shaking himself, nearly knocking Duo off of his back. Duo blinked.  
  
"Why's that Rayzilla?" Duo asked. Rayearth laughed at his new nickname.  
  
"I was put into a sleep for several thousand years to await my knight. Once she had awakened me my purpose was to fight and wait to fight. And that's what I've done." Rayearth explained. Duo folded his arms across his chest.  
  
"Bummer. Why'd you have to wait so long?" Duo asked.  
  
"No one knew how long it would take before Princess Emeraude would call the Magic Knights." Rayearth said. Duo didn't understand and Rayearth told him the legend in its entirety, and for once Duo paid attention the entire time. When it was over, Duo had begun to cry.  
  
"THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" He shouted. Rayearth nodded and sat.  
  
"I know. But it is all in the past now. The system is eliminated. The tragedy will never occur again." Rayearth assured him. Duo nodded a bit, still not happy with the concept of a pillar system. But the peace that Rayearth had described inspired him to fight harder for peace in this world. He knew that when the others heard of this legend, if they had not already, they would be inspired in the same way to fight for that peace.  
  
Bonus Scene:  
  
"THAT IS NOT DIABLO!" Zagato shouted for the tenth time at Emeraude, who stared up at the Gundam, Deathscythe.  
  
"It's black. Diablo is black." Emeraude reasoned.  
  
"THAT IS NOT DIABLO!" Zagato shouted again. Clef tapped Wing's leg with his staff.  
  
"Why doesn't it move?" Clef asked. Fuu stared up at Heavyarms.  
  
"Oh my. His arms must be very heavy." She said. ((VERY sorry about the pun!)) Umi looked up at Nataku; somehow feeling connected to it. Ferio jumped onto Sandrock.  
  
"Maybe they're like Eagle's robot." Ferio said. Hikaru whined.  
  
"I WANT RAYEARTH BACK!" 


	2. And Along Came a Peacecraft

Chapter Two - And Along Came A Peacecraft  
  
Duo and Rayearth had resumed their goofing around. They were jumping and   
  
laughing and playing in the afternoon sun like two old friends when Duo spotted her. He   
  
stopped, causing Rayearth to stop as well. He hid behind Rayearth and shouted, "PEACE   
  
OF CRAP!" Heero looked up and face palmed. Relena had arrived.  
  
Relena stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw threatening to hit the ground. Ok,   
  
Wufei talking to a giant dragon wasn't too weird. She'd expected to see that someday,   
  
somehow, even though dragons weren't real. Quatre having pleasant conversation with a   
  
giant four winged bird was a little out of the ordinary. Trowa drinking tea with a giant   
  
centaur was a little out there. And Duo prancing around with a giant flaming wolf was   
  
just a little weird. But Heero having a casual conversation about war with a giant black   
  
hyena gargoyle was just too much for the Queen of the World. She fainted. Quatre rushed   
  
over and tried to wake her up. Duo poked her with a stick.  
  
"Dude! I think we killed her!" Duo said, sounding a little happier than he   
  
probably should have. Quatre shook his head.  
  
"She's still breathing." Quatre assured Duo.  
  
"Damnit." Duo muttered. The five spirits all blinked. Diablo was pretty sure he   
  
was the one who caused her to faint. He actually felt rather proud of himself. He got bad   
  
vibes from that woman. (Yes. Diablo is a hippie.) Selece and Wufei, together, gave an   
  
annoyed sigh. They looked at each other, grinned, and then laughed. Trowa shook his   
  
head.  
  
"I think Selece and your friend Wufei have become quite good friends." Sora said.   
  
Trowa nodded.  
  
"Who'd have thought." Trowa chuckled. Sora smiled. Her horse-like legs were   
  
pulled under her, and she watched as Rayearth went over to Relena and nudged her   
  
gently with his paw.  
  
"She isn't waking up," Rayearth said to Duo. Duo grinned.  
  
"Good." Duo laughed. Heero elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to give an   
  
"Oomph!" and glare at Heero, who glared back. Duo backed off. Diablo padded over and   
  
lowered his head so he was face to face with Relena. He couldn't have picked a worse   
  
time.  
  
Relena stirred and opened her eyes, took one look at Diablo's face, and screamed.   
  
Diablo roared and reared back, jumping several feet away. Sora got up and trotted to   
  
Diablo to calm him down. Relena had jumped out of Quatre's arms and hid behind Heero.  
  
"Hee-chan!" Relena cried, "What is that monster!?" Diablo looked insulted.  
  
"I'm not a monster!" Diablo roared. Sora touched his shoulder.  
  
"Calm down, its alright." Sora said soothingly. Diablo calmed, but glared angrily   
  
at Relena. Heero's death glare had rubbed off on Diablo. Rayearth didn't seem to like   
  
Relena much either, seeing as she'd screamed again once she'd noticed him, then   
  
complained about Duo once she'd realized that was who Rayearth was friends with. Duo   
  
waved it off.  
  
"Ignore her buddy. She ain't worth the anger." Duo said.  
  
"You shut up Maxwell!" Relena said, in a rare fit of rudeness. Rayearth snarled at   
  
her and she squeaked and resumed hiding behind Heero. Heero stood and walked to   
  
Diablo, resuming the conversation they'd been having, and petting his snout quietly.   
  
Relena stared in horror. How could her dear sweet Heero be associated with such a   
  
horrible monster? Diablo glanced at Relena. How could his new war-obsessed friend be   
  
associated with such a weirdo? Windam lowered his head to Relena.  
  
"Why did you scream at Rayearth? That's not nice." Windam said, his back pair   
  
of wings raised high. Relena squeaked again in fear. Quatre laughed.  
  
"Windam won't hurt you!" Quatre smiled reassuringly. Relena nodded a bit.  
  
"I won't as long as she lays off my friends!" Windam said angrily. Quatre patted   
  
his beak.  
  
"Relena will be nice. Won't you miss Relena?" Quatre said turning to the   
  
frightened girl. She nodded quickly and Windam nodded in return.  
  
"I hold you to your word Miss Relena." He said. Quatre smiled awkwardly and   
  
poured himself some tea… Which kinda came from nowhere. He also poured a cup for   
  
Windam, who managed to drink it somehow. Relena shakily sat beside Heero and forced   
  
a smile.  
  
"G-Good Morn-ning…" Relena stammered. Diablo nodded to her, but said   
  
nothing. He looked at Heero.  
  
"So you were saying?" Diablo ignored Relena, wanting to finish his conversation   
  
with Heero. Heero nodded.  
  
"I highly doubt disarmament would bring peace. I think total peace is impossible."   
  
Heero said, picking up where he had left off. Diablo nodded. Relena blinked, of course   
  
total peace could be achieved!  
  
"I completely agree. No being will ever like every other being in existence."   
  
Diablo said.  
  
"My thoughts exactly." Heero replied. Relena was shocked, Heero didn't agree   
  
with her theory of universal peace? It was this monster, it had to be! He was corrupting   
  
her poor Hee-chan! Relena glared up at Diablo.  
  
"You get away from Heero! You're corrupting his mind!" Relena shouted. And   
  
suddenly all activity ceased. Sora ran to Diablo and Windam beat his wings angrily.  
  
"You broke your word Miss Relena." Windam said lowly. Diablo roared loudly,   
  
despite Sora's half-hearted attempts at calming him down. Rayearth growled and Selece   
  
glared angrily. Quatre had a hand infront of his mouth to hide his gasp, and Duo was   
  
doing everything he could not to go over and beat Relena untill she lost consciousness.   
  
Trowa had followed Sora, and was looking at Heero, who was just staring at Relena in   
  
some kind of horror and rage filled disbelief.  
  
"Leave Relena." Relena blinked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said leave. Diablo has done nothing to you and you insist on being rude to him.   
  
I'd like you to leave now." Heero glared at her. Relena looked around.  
  
"Do all of you want me to go?" Relena asked.  
  
"Now!" Diablo roared.  
  
"Right away." Selece said.  
  
"Better now than later." Wufei added.  
  
"Yes, please." Quatre said.  
  
"Go away." Windam growled.  
  
"And stay away." Sora snapped.  
  
"Hn." Trowa nodded.  
  
"Idiot woman." Rayearth snarled.  
  
"And don't come back!" Duo shouted. Relena ignored Duo and Rayearth, they'd   
  
probably corrupted Heero too. She stood up and glared at the five mashin.  
  
"I wish you all would go back where you came from and stop corrupting these   
  
poor boys!" Relena shouted, "You're all horrible monsters!" Rayearth could hold his   
  
anger back no longer. This woman was asking for death. He pounced on her, easily   
  
pinning her under one massive paw.  
  
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE WOMAN!?" He roared. Relena squeaked.   
  
"WE ARE SPIRITS! GODS! HOW DARE YOU INSULT US!" Duo rushed over and   
  
pulled on Rayearth's leg.  
  
"Come on buddy, she ain't worth it! Don't waste the effort!" Duo shouted.   
  
Rayearth ignored him. Relena looked at Heero, who was making no effort to save her.  
  
"Heero!" Relena cried.  
  
"You should have left while you had the chance. You insulted a pack of gods.   
  
One of which is my friend." Heero said coldly. Rayearth pressed his paw down harder on   
  
Relena, then stepped off and lay down under a tree, head on his forepaws.  
  
"Go now woman. You're lucky he spared you. Go now without saying anything   
  
else or he may not be so kind next time." Selece said. Relena got up, hand across her ribs,   
  
quite sure Rayearth has snapped a few of them, but she didn't leave. She just stood there.   
  
Windam lowered his head to Quatre.  
  
"Why isn't she leaving? She's practically asking us to kill her!" Windam   
  
whispered. Quatre looked up at Windam.  
  
"Please don't. I don't know why she refuses to leave, or why she's here at all, but   
  
please do not hurt her any more." Quatre begged. Windam just nodded. He lifted his head   
  
and gave a cry. Selece, Sora, and Diablo turned to look at him. Rayearth, who was still   
  
feeling fully insulted, ignored the call.  
  
"We leave the girl be. We will ignore her. She has insulted us, but we are spirits   
  
made to aid our knights and nothing more. We are made to protect the innocent, not   
  
destroy them." Windam looked among the others. Diablo settled and struck up a   
  
conversation with Heero about pointless holidays, particularly Valentine's Day. Sora sat   
  
with Trowa, the both of them silent. Duo sat beside Rayearth and began to pet him and   
  
tell him that Relena was stupid and didn't know what she was talking about. Wufei and   
  
Selece picked up their conversation on how there was no justice in the world. (And how   
  
Relena proved it.) Windam settled again and resumed talking to Quatre about the concept   
  
of "family".  
  
Relena looked around. She glared at Rayearth and Duo. Rayearth had nearly   
  
killed her and Duo was practically congratulating him on it! And Heero… He was acting   
  
so cold. Had he always been that way? Reality was starting to dawn on Relena. Heero   
  
had always been this way to her and she'd been so consumed in her fantasies to notice.   
  
Diablo hadn't changed Heero, he had changed her. She turned to Diablo and bowed her   
  
head. She couldn't bow much further due to her three broken ribs, "Forgive me."  
  
"Excuse me?" Diablo said lowly. All eyes had once more fallen upon Relena, who   
  
was shaking, and in turn wincing in horrible pain.  
  
"Please… I see now that I made a horrible mistake in misjudging you all. You are   
  
not monsters. You are creatures of peace, and you have wonderful hearts. I was lost in   
  
my dreams of peace and could not see the truth. Please, spirits, forgive me." Relena   
  
begged. The five moved into a ring away from the other pilots and consulted each other.  
  
The five pilots all stood in a row in their usual order, Trowa, Quatre, Heero, Duo,   
  
and Wufei. Rayearth kept shaking his head sharply, and Windam kept beating his wings.   
  
Trowa could easily pick out Sora's voice, trying to reason with them to get them to   
  
forgive Relena, even though it was obvious she didn't like Relena any more than the rest   
  
of them. Selece's argument sounded much like something Wufei might use, the word   
  
"injustice" springing from his mouth frequently. Wufei was proud. Windam also tried to   
  
reason with his friends, but Rayearth refused to forgive Relena. From the minute she'd   
  
arrived she'd shown him complete disrespect. Even Alcyone had been respectful to the   
  
spirits!  
  
"Ten bucks says Rayearth kills her." Wufei whispered to Duo.  
  
"You're on." Duo chuckled. Heero elbowed Duo rather hard and he gave another   
  
"Oomph!" and glared at Heero. Trowa and Quatre laughed quietly. Relena just stood,   
  
wondering why in the name of heaven this was taking so long.  
  
"Fine." Rayearth finally scoffed, and then stalked back to his tree. Duo grinned at   
  
Wufei, who glared and gave him ten dollars. Duo then pocketed his newfound income.  
  
"Nice doing business with you Wuffers."  
  
"Don't call me that."  
  
"Whatever you say Wuffers." Duo laughed, then went and sat next to Rayearth   
  
and tried to make him feel better again.  
  
"Look! You made me ten dollars! Doesn't that make you feel better?"  
  
"Sorta…" Rayearth laughed, and Duo laughed with him.  
  
Windam waved a wing over Relena and sparkly green dust rained over her. She   
  
blinked up at Windam, then looked at herself.  
  
"My ribs! They don't hurt anymore!" Relena cheered. She looked up at Windam.   
  
"Hey wait a second. If you could heal me, why didn't you do it from the beginning?"   
  
Windam laughed.  
  
"Do you really think that I would just go ahead and heal a foolish girl who called   
  
my friends and I monsters?" Windam asked. Rayearth growled at Relena.  
  
"She's just asking for me to break those ribs again." He scoffed. Relena squeaked.   
  
Duo laughed. Heero shook his head and sat with Diablo. He pulled out his laptop and   
  
turned it on.  
  
"I got our mission." Heero said. Duo bounded over and looked over Heero's   
  
shoulder.  
  
"What is it? What is it? Tell me! Tell me!" Duo laughed. Heero rolled his eyes   
  
and opened the email containing their mission. The description was short, and there were   
  
four image files that went with it. One picture of three people, and then an individual   
  
picture of each person.  
  
"We're supposed to protect these three, two young men and young child. They are   
  
not supposed to know we are following them." Heero said.  
  
"Protect them from what?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Damned vague missions." Wufei mumbled. Selece nodded his agreement. Duo   
  
looked at the picture of the three and raised an eyebrow. One of the men was holding a   
  
little girl while the other was handing her an ice cream cone.  
  
"Am I the only one that's getting a sense that there's a homosexual relationship   
  
here?" Duo asked. Heero elbowed Duo again and he retreated with his usual "oomph".   
  
Rayearth laughed. Windam and Quatre laughed quietly to themselves and shook their   
  
heads. Trowa just smiled to himself and began to play cards with Sora. Heero and Diablo   
  
reviewed the mission several times, both determined to complete it in total perfection.   
  
That was how both of them were used to working missions.  
  
"Duo… Do you have a problem with homosexual relationships?" Quatre asked.   
  
Duo blinked and shook his head.  
  
"No… I was just wondering if I was the only one that thought it was a   
  
possibility." Duo said, looking up from his video game magazine. Windam and Rayearth   
  
blinked at each other, shrugged, and resumed what they'd been doing.  
  
Relena was still standing there, suddenly becoming jealous that she was a not   
  
friends with one of these spirit god things. Rayearth was out of the question, he didn't like   
  
her, she didn't like him, and she liked her ribs just how they were! Selece didn't seem like   
  
a good choice either. Wufei had begun to rub off on him, which would make him almost   
  
completely sexist. Windam seemed polite and sensible, but she'd broken her word to him,   
  
so that probably wasn't a good idea. Diablo was… just… No. That left Sora. Sora was a   
  
girl, and she was calm and smart and sensible. Sure there was Trowa to deal with, but she   
  
had to be more fun to talk to than him! Hell, Trowa hardly even talks! She skipped over   
  
happily and smiled up at Sora. Sora didn't look up from her cards. She rearranged a few   
  
and looked at Trowa. Trowa looked back at her. Relena cleared her throat and both of   
  
them looked at her.  
  
"Can I help you?" Sora asked. Relena beamed.  
  
"I want to be your friend!" Relena said cheerfully. Sora put a few cards down and   
  
picked up a few more.  
  
"You called Diablo a monster three times. I may have made the decision to let   
  
you live, but I will not forgive you that easily. Now if you would excuse me, I've got a   
  
card game to finish." Sora said flatly. Trowa nodded a bit. Relena's spirit shattered. She   
  
gave a little whimper, which Sora and Trowa ignored, and then walked away from them.  
  
"Ok, so Heero doesn't like me and I'm not more fun than Trowa. Do I even have a   
  
reason to keep living?" Relena asked herself.  
  
Duo and Rayearth had both fallen asleep. The sun had begun to set and they all   
  
agreed it was getting late. Trowa put the cards away and fell asleep leaning against Sora's   
  
side. Diablo curled into a ball and Heero lay on his back in the grass. Windam tucked his   
  
head under a wing and fell asleep, Quatre hidden beneath another wing. Wufei had fallen   
  
asleep, lying on his back, his head propped up against Selece's fore-leg. Relena sat and   
  
looked around. Quietly she went and sat on the other side of the tree Rayearth and Duo   
  
were under, leaned back against it, and fell asleep alone.  
  
Chapter 2 Bonus!  
  
Why Relena Is Not More Fun To Talk To Than Trowa  
  
- Relena - Never shuts up, meaning you never get to talk  
  
- Trowa - Doesn't talk at all, meaning you can talk all you want. (If you're lucky   
  
you'll even get an answer!)  
  
- Relena - Is very hard to look at. This makes making eyes contact difficult.  
  
- Trowa - While finding his other eye may prove as a task, Trowa is rather pretty   
  
(just ask Chi) so its really not hard to make contact with at least one of his eyes.  
  
- Relena - Here, you are very limited in conversation for 3 reasons. 1 - She's an   
  
idiot and won't understand half of what you say anyway. 2 - She's a diehard pacifist. You   
  
can't talk about ANYTHING that could be related to war in any way. (Which knocks off   
  
all my favorite topics .) 3 - All she wants to talk about is Heero. And will always   
  
change the topic to Heero.  
  
- Trowa - Trowa honestly doesn't care what you talk about. Talk about war,   
  
animals, the weather, or the moldy thing in the fridge. Trowa will listen to you! =D And   
  
he won't change the topic on you!  
  
- Relena - Who would want to talk to Relena? I mean hell, those annoying preppy   
  
girls at the school talk to her, but they're probably paid to. And she ignores them! (See   
  
second episode.)  
  
- Trowa - Everyone wants to talk to Trowa. Even the real Trowa just randomly   
  
came up to Trowa and told him all about how his niece was going to take over Earth. Isn't   
  
that nice now?  
  
- Relena - If you try and talk to Relena, the rest of the world will not like you for   
  
it, because no one likes Relena. Heero doesn't. Duo doesn't. Even the mashin don't.   
  
(Which explains why Rayearth broke 3 of her ribs.)  
  
- Trowa - Everyone likes Trowa. Even people who are afraid of clowns   
  
(*coughmecough*) like Trowa. The mashin like Trowa too. They play cards with him. So   
  
no one will get mad at you for talking to Trowa. 


End file.
